Surface machining method for single crystal sic substrate, manufacturing method thereof, and grinding plate for surface machining single crystal sic substrate

ABSTRACT

A surface machining method for a single crystal SiC substrate, including: a step of mounting a grinding plate which includes a soft pad and a hard pad sequentially attached onto a base metal having a flat surface, a step of generating an oxidation product by using the grinding plate, and a step of grinding the surface while removing the oxidation product, wherein abrasive grains made of at least one metallic oxide that is softer than single crystal SiC and has a bandgap are fixed to the surface of the hard pad.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional Application of U.S. application Ser.No. 15/448,462 filed Mar. 2, 2017, which is a Divisional Application ofU.S. Application Ser. No. 14/765,875 filed Aug. 5, 2015 (issued as U.S.Pat. No. 9,620,374), which is a National Stage under § 371 ofPCT/JP2014/053379 filed February 13, 2014, which claims benefit fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2013-026081 filed Feb. 13, 2013, theabove-noted applications incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a surface machining method for a singlecrystal SiC substrate, a manufacturing method thereof, and a grindingplate for surface machining a single crystal SiC substrate.

Since silicon carbide (SiC) as a semiconductor material has a wider bandgap than silicon (Si) currently used widely as a substrate for devices,studies are underway to produce power devices, high-frequency devices,high-temperature-operating devices, and the like using a single crystalSiC substrate.

A single crystal SiC substrate is formed by, for example, cutting asingle crystal SiC ingot manufactured by using a sublimation method andthen machining both surfaces to be mirror finished (for example, referto PTL 1).

Since the cut substrate includes warped portions, undulating portions,or machining strain, the surfaces are polished to be mirror finishedthrough chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) after the above-describeddefects are mitigated through, for example, grinding using diamondabrasive grains. However, since the machining speed of CMP is low, it ishighly desirable that the depth of the machining strain layer bedecreased as much as possible before CMP (for example, refer to NPL 1).

For the mirror-finish machining a non-oxide ceramic such as SiC, amechano-chemical polishing technique is used. For example, NPL 2discloses a method for dry polishing carried out on a polishing discobtained by shaping chromium oxide abrasive grains having an averagegrain diameter of 0.5 μm with a resin such as acrylonitrile or phenoland results of the machining single crystal SiC.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

[PTL 1] Japanese Patent No. 4499698

Non-Patent Literature

[NPL 1] Takanori Kido, Kazutoshi Hotta, Kenji Kawata, Masatake Nagaya,Hiroto Maeda, Yoshihiro Deguchi, Syogo Matsuda, Atsunori Takeda, RyuichiTakanabe, Tomohiro Nakayama, Tomohisa Kato: the proceedings of the 21stMeeting on SiC and Related Wide Bandgap Semiconductors, pp. 72 and 73

[NPL 2] Tadatomo Suga: Machines and Tools, 35, 92 to 96 (1991)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, in the method disclosed in NPL 2, a machining load of 0.34 MPa,which is unrealistic in a mass-production step, is required for smallsingle crystal specimens and thus it is not possible to apply thismethod to the practical use of a current SiC power semiconductor havinga target diameter of 6 inches. Furthermore, the polishing disc disclosedin NPL 2 is a so-called resin bond grindstone with which it is notpossible to avoid the generation of small scratches.

Therefore, in order to develop a mirror-finish machining method that canbe used for the mass-production of single crystal SiC substrates havinga mirror finish that can be used in current devices on the basis of themethod disclosed in NTL 2, it is necessary to solve at least the problemof the machining load and the problem of the generation of smallscratches.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present inventorscarried out intensive studies and realized the present invention afterperforming at least a plurality of steps described below.

NPL 2 discloses a mechanism of machining in which a mechano-chemicalaction is carried out in which the surface of the specimen is oxidizedusing chromium oxide as a catalyst and is removed using abrasive grains,whereby effective machining is achieved. The present inventors carriedout in-depth studies regarding the mechano-chemical action and mechanismand came to the following conclusions. That is, energy is supplied dueto mechanical rubbing between abrasive grains made of a material havinga bandgap and a substance to be machined, and electrons on the surfacesof the abrasive grains are excited, thereby generating electron-holepairs. Therefore, by the same mechanism as that for a photocatalystmaterial, active species having an extremely strong oxidation power suchas a superoxide anion, a hydroxyl radical, or atomic oxygen aregenerated and the surface of the specimen is oxidized. In a case inwhich the substance to be machined is single crystal SiC, it isconsidered that the oxidation product is assumed to be SiO₂.nH₂O and COor CO₂, and SiO₂.nH₂O is removed using abrasive grains, whereby thesurfaces of a single crystal SiC substrate can be machined to a mirrorfinish. In the present specification, the above-described action will bedefined as a tribo-catalytic action.

In the present invention, scratches on the surface of a single crystalSiC substrate, which are generated during grinding on the basis of amechanical removal action in which diamond abrasive grains or the likeare used, are reduced by using abrasive grains having thetribo-catalytic action.

In the tribo-catalytic action, it is important to efficiently supplymechanical energy to abrasive grains and generate a large number ofelectron-hole pairs. Since the majority of the electron-hole pairs donot contribute to the generation of active species but recombine witheach other and disappear, it becomes necessary to increase theprobability of the generation of the active species.

In the present invention, in order to easily apply the machining asingle crystal SiC substrate having a large diameter to mass production,it is necessary that tribo-catalytic abrasive grains be used in a stateof being mounted in a grinder. Since there have been no previous reportsof carrying out machining in which tribo-catalytic action is used with agrinder, grinding conditions under which tribo-catalytic action can beeffectively employed have recently been investigated. As a result, itwas found that there are appropriate ranges for the kinds of abrasivegrains, the selection of particle diameters, the kinds of coolants, thesupply rates, the rotation speeds of grinding plates, and the like.

In addition, it was found that, in a case in which a so-calledgrindstone made by fixing abrasive grains with a bond material, whichhas been generally used as a grinding plate for grinders in the relatedart, is produced and used, the generation of small scratches isinevitable even in machining in which tribo-catalytic action is used.

Therefore, after intensive studies, the use of a pad for CMP, which hasnever been applied to grinders before, as the base substance of thegrinding plate was considered.

In addition, there are a variety of materials having tribo-catalyticaction and, for example, diamond, SiC, and the like are also materialshaving a bandgap and thus exhibit tribo-catalytic action. However, thesematerials are unsuitable since they are not as soft as single crystalSiC and thus scratches are generated on the machined surface of singlecrystal SiC.

Therefore, in the present invention, in order to reduce scratchesgenerated on the machined surface of single crystal SiC during grinding,a substance softer than single crystal SiC is used as abrasives grains.

An object of the present invention is to provide a surface machiningmethod for a single crystal SiC substrate which can be applied to amass-production step using an existing grinder and is capable ofsuppressing the generation of small scratches, a manufacturing methodthereof, and a grinding plate for surface machining a single crystal SiCsubstrate.

The present invention provides the following means:

(1) A surface machining method for a single crystal SiC substrate,comprising: a step of mounting a grinding plate which includes a softpad and a hard pad sequentially attached onto a base metal having a flatsurface, a step of generating an oxidation product by using the grindingplate, and a step of grinding the surface while removing the oxidationproduct, wherein abrasive grains made of at least one metallic oxidethat is softer than single crystal SiC and has a bandgap are fixed tothe surface of the hard pad.

(2) The surface machining method for a single crystal SiC substrateaccording to (1), in which pure water is used as a coolant.

(3) The surface machining method for a single crystal SiC substrateaccording to (1), in which a coolant is not used or the supply rate ofpure water used as the coolant is greater than 0 ml/min and less than orequal to 100 ml/min.

(4) The surface machining method for a single crystal SiC substrateaccording to any one of (1) to (3), in which the rotation direction of atable for a substance to be machined is the inverse direction of therotation direction of the grinding plate, the hard pad is segmented, andthe rotation speed of the table for a substance to be machined is in arange of 30 rpm to 300 rpm.

(5) A manufacturing method for a single crystal SiC substrate,comprising: a step of mounting a grinding plate which includes a softpad and a hard pad sequentially attached onto a base metal having a flatsurface, a step of generating an oxidation product by using the grindingplate, and a step of grinding the surface while removing the oxidationproduct, wherein abrasive grains made of at least one metallic oxidethat is softer than single crystal SiC and has a bandgap are fixed tothe surface of the hard pad.

(6) A grinding plate for surface machining a single crystal SiCsubstrate including a soft pad and a hard pad sequentially attached ontoa base metal having a flat surface, abrasive grains made of at least onemetallic oxide that is softer than single crystal SiC and has a bandgapare fixed to the surface of the hard pad.

(7) The grinding plate for surface machining a single crystal SiCsubstrate according to (6), in which the metal oxide is one or moreselected from cerium oxide, titanium oxide, silicon oxide, aluminumoxide, iron oxide, zirconium oxide, zinc oxide, and tin oxide.

(8) The grinding plate for surface machining a single crystal SiCsubstrate according to (7), in which the metal oxide includes at leastcerium oxide.

(9) The grinding plate for surface machining a single crystal SiCsubstrate according to any one of (6) to (8), in which the specificsurface area of the abrasive grains is in a range of 0.1 m2/g to 300m2/g.

(10) The grinding plate for surface machining a single crystal SiCsubstrate according to any one of (6) to (9), in which the soft pad is anon-woven fabric or suede-based pad.

(11) The grinding plate for surface machining a single crystal SiCsubstrate according to any one of (6) to (10), in which the hard pad isa foamed polyurethane-based pad.

(12) The grinding plate for surface machining a single crystal SiCsubstrate according to any one of (6) to (11), in which the abrasivegrains are fixed by using a binding agent and/or an adhesive.

(13) The grinding plate for surface machining a single crystal SiCsubstrate according to any one of (6) to (12), in which the abrasivegrains are fixed by attaching an abrasive grain-fixed film to the hardpad.

In the present specification, the term “single crystal SiC substrate”will be commonly used as the substrate before surface grinding, thesubstrate during surface grinding, and the substrate after surfacegrinding.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a surfacemachining method for a single crystal SiC substrate which can be appliedto a mass-production step using an existing grinder, is capable ofsuppressing the generation of small scratches, and is capable of rapidlyproducing a mirror-finish, a manufacturing method thereof, and agrinding plate for surface machining a single crystal SiC substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a schematic view illustrating the structure of agrinding plate of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a part of the structure of anexample of a surface grinder in which the grinding plate of the presentinvention is used.

FIG. 3 is an optical photomicrograph of a surface of a single crystalSiC ingot before machining in a first example of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an optical photomicrograph of the surface of the singlecrystal SiC ingot after the machining in the first example of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, for a surface machining method for a single crystal SiCsubstrate, a manufacturing method thereof, and a grinding plate forsurface machining a single crystal SiC substrate to which the presentinvention is applied, the configurations thereof will be described usingdrawings. In the drawings, there are cases in which the characteristicportions are enlarged for the better understanding of thecharacteristics and the dimensional ratios and the like of therespective constituent components are not always identical to the actualdimensional ratios and the like thereof. In addition, materials,dimensions, and the like exemplified in the following description aresimple examples and the present invention is not limited thereto and canbe carried out in an appropriately modified manner within the scope ofthe gist of the present invention.

Grinding Plate for Surface Machining a Single Crystal SiC Substrate

FIGS. 1A and 1B contain schematic views illustrating an example of agrinding plate for surface machining a single crystal SiC substrateaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is asectional view and FIG. 1B is a plan view.

A grinding plate 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B includes a base metal1 having a flat surface and a soft pad 2 and a hard pad 3 sequentiallyattached onto the base metal 1. Abrasive grains (not illustrated) madeof at least one metallic oxide that is softer than single crystal SiCand has a bandgap are fixed to the surface of the hard pad 3.

In this example, the soft pad 2 and the hard pad 3 are attached to eachother through an adhesive sheet 4 and the hard pad 3 is made up of eightsheets (3 a) that are segmented in a right-angled triangular shape. Inaddition, the base metal 1 includes a screw hole la for fixing thegrinding plate to a grinder. In this case, the adhesive sheet 4 is usedto prevent water absorption of the soft pad when a coolant such as purewater or the like is used and to stabilize the attachment of the hardpad. However, the hard pad 3 and the soft pad 2 may be directly attachedto each other without using the adhesive sheet.

In addition, as illustrated in this example, the soft pad 2 and theadhesive sheet 4 need not have a hole at a portion corresponding to thescrew hole la for the purpose of covering the screw hole la with a lidto prevent the intrusion of chips or the coolant.

When mechanically rubbed with a substance to be machined during surfacegrinding of the single crystal SiC substrate, the abrasive grains havinga bandgap supply energy, thus, electrons on the surfaces of the abrasivegrains are excited, and then electron-hole pairs are generated, activespecies having an extremely strong oxidation power such as a superoxideanion, a hydroxyl radical, or atomic oxygen and the surface of thespecimen is oxidized. In addition, SiO₂.nH₂O generated due to theoxidization of the surface of the specimen is removed using abrasivegrains, whereby the surfaces of the single crystal SiC substrate can bemachined. That is, a tribo-catalytic action is exhibited.

As a material having a bandgap which exhibits a tribo-catalytic action,particularly, metallic oxides are all materials softer than the singlecrystal SiC. In addition, since almost all metallic oxides are materialshaving a bandgap, and powder having tribo-catalytic action can beindustrially produced and used in abrasive grains, pigments,photocatalysts, and the like, metallic oxides can be preferably used.

The powder of at least one metallic oxide selected from cerium oxide,titanium oxide, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, iron oxide, zirconiumoxide, zinc oxide, and tin oxide is preferable since the metallic oxidecan be easily produced industrially and is a material having a bandgapand thus has a tribo-catalytic action.

Cerium oxide is the metallic oxide, the powder of which can be mostpreferably used, in consideration of the fact that cerium oxide can be,industrially, easily procured and is a semiconductor material having abandgap and thus exhibits the tribo-catalytic action.

Since the abrasive grains need to have the capability to removeSiO₂.nH₂O, they need to have a specific particle diameter. However, whenthe primary particle diameter is large, the specific surface areabecomes small and, similar to a photocatalytic action, thetribo-catalytic action cannot be efficiently exhibited, and thus thereis an appropriate range therefor. That is, in terms of the mechanicalremoval capability of the abrasive grains, a large grain diameter, thatis, a small specific surface area is advantageous. Meanwhile, similar toan ordinary catalytic action, the tribo-catalytic action is affected bythe surface and thus a large specific surface area leads to a strongeffect. Therefore, a range in which both the grain diameter and thespecific surface area are well-balanced becomes the above-describedappropriate range.

The specific surface area of the abrasive grains is preferably in arange of 0.1 m²/g to 300 m²/g. This is because, when the specificsurface area is smaller than 0.1 m²/g, there is a concern that thetribo-catalytic action cannot be efficiently exhibited and, when thespecific surface area is larger than 300 m²/g, there is a concern thatSiO₂.nH₂O cannot be efficiently removed.

The specific surface area of the abrasive grains is more preferably in arange of 0.5 m²/g to 200 m²/g. This is because, when the specificsurface area is set to 0.5 m²/g or more, the tribo-catalytic action canbe more efficiently exhibited and, when the specific surface area is setto 200 m²/g or less, SiO₂.nH₂O can be more efficiently removed.

The specific surface area of the abrasive grains is still morepreferably in a range of 1 m²/g to 100 m²/g. This is because, when thespecific surface area is set to 1 m²/g or more, the tribo-catalyticaction can be still more efficiently exhibited and, when the specificsurface area is set to 100 m²/g or less, SiO₂.nH₂O can be still moreefficiently removed.

Since the grinding plate includes the base metal, the grinding plate canbe mounted in a grinder in order to be used in the grinder.

As the base metal, a well-known base metal can be used and examplesthereof include base metals the material of which is an aluminum alloysuch as silumin.

The base metal has a flat surface facing a substance to be machined andthe grinding plate has a structure in which the soft pad and the hardpad are sequentially attached onto the flat surface thereof. When theabove-described structure is provided, the machining of the surfacestandard, that is, the machining uniformly flattening the surface of asubstance to be machined on the basis of the surface to be machined ofthe substance to be machined as the standard surface, is possible and itis possible to suppress scratches generated on the surface of the singlecrystal SiC substrate, which is the substance to be machined, to theminimum extent.

As the soft pad, it is possible to use a non-woven fabric or suede-basedpad.

As the hard pad, it is possible to use a foamed polyurethane-based pad.

On the outermost surface of the grinding plate which is subjected tomachining, the abrasive grains made of at least one metallic oxide thatis softer than single crystal SiC and has a bandgap is fixed to thesurface of the hard pad. These abrasive grains can be fixed to thesurface of the hard pad using a binding agent or an adhesive.

In addition, the abrasive grains can be fixed by attaching acommercially available abrasive grain-fixed film to the hard pad.

The Surface Machining Method for the Single Crystal SiC Substrate

In a surface machining method for a single crystal SiC substrateaccording to an embodiment of the present invention, a grinding plateincluding a soft pad and a hard pad sequentially attached onto a basemetal having a flat surface, in which abrasive grains made of at leastone metallic oxide that is softer than single crystal SiC and has abandgap is fixed to the surface of the hard pad, is mounted in agrinder, an oxidation product is generated by using the grinding plate,and the surface is ground while removing the oxidation product.

As the grinder in which the grinding plate is mounted, a well-knowngrinder can be used.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating the structure of a part thatgrinds the single crystal substrate of an example of the grinder inwhich the grinding plate of the present invention is mounted. Thegrinding plate 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B is mounted in a drivingunit 11 and the driving unit is rotated using a motor belt. A singlecrystal SiC substrate 12 is fixed to a table for a substance to bemachined 13 through vacuum adsorption using a vacuum chucking device(not illustrated). A substrate-holding section 14 is sent in a grindingplate direction while being rotated together with the table for asubstance to be machined 13, whereby the substrate is ground.

When the grinding conditions are appropriately selected, thetribo-catalytic action of the grinding plate with respect to singlecrystal SiC is significantly exhibited and thus an oxidation product canbe generated.

The rotation speed of the grinding plate is preferably in a range of 300rpm to 3000 rpm. This is because, when the rotation speed is lower than300 rpm, the mechanical energy supplied to the abrasive grains is toosmall and there is a concern that the tribo-catalytic action may not beexhibited and, when the rotation speed is higher than 3000 rpm, there isa concern that a problem of heat generation or the vibration of thedevice may become unignorable. Since there has been no experience ofapplying a grinding plate having the tribo-catalytic action to agrinder, it has not been clear whether or not the tribo-catalytic actionis exhibited in the existing specification of the grinder. As a resultof intensive studies, it has been clarified that an ordinary rotationspeed of the grinding plate can be applied.

The rotation speed of the grinding plate is more preferably in a rangeof 500 rpm to 2000 rpm. This is because, when the rotation speed is setto 500 rpm or higher, it becomes possible to generate more sufficientmechanical energy for the tribo-catalytic action and, when the rotationspeed is set to 2000 rpm or lower, it becomes possible to more reliablyavoid the problem of heat generation or the vibration of the device.

The rotation direction of the table for a substance to be machined canbe set in the forward direction (the same direction) of the rotationdirection of the grinding plate. In this case, the rotation speed of thetable for a substance to be machined is preferably in a range of 80% to120% of the rotation speed of the grinding plate. This is because, whenthe rotation speed of the table for a substance to be machined is set tolower than 80% or higher than 120% of the rotation speed of the grindingplate, the amount of the machined surface removed becomes uneven.

The rotation direction of the table for a substance to be machined canbe set in the inverse direction of the rotation direction of thegrinding plate. In this case, in order to uniform the amount of themachined surface removed, the rotation speed of the table for asubstance to be machined is preferably in a range of 30 rpm to 300 rpmunder the condition that the hard pad is segmented into an appropriateshape.

The reasons therefore are as described below.

When the hard pad is segmented, that is, the hard pad is divided andattached in an appropriate size, it is possible to control the contactfrequency between the abrasive grains on the grinding plate, whichrotates in the inverse direction to the substance to be machined, andthe surface to be machined of the substance to be machined and, forexample, it is possible to prevent uneven machining in which only thecentral portion of the substance to be machined is ground to a greatextent. In an ordinary grinder, the table for a substance to be machinedis disposed so that the rotation center of the table for a substance tobe machined lies on an outer circumferential portion of the grindingplate and the rotation direction of the table for a substance to bemachined is the inverse direction of the rotation direction of thegrinding plate. Therefore, when the abrasive grains are presentthroughout the entire surface of the grinding plate, the contactfrequency of the abrasive grains to the central portion of the substanceto be machined increases and only the central portion is ground.Appropriate segmentation for preventing the above-described phenomenonis effective.

In addition, when the rotation speed of the table for a substance to bemachined is set to lower than 30 rpm or higher than 300 rpm, the grinderoperates outside the ordinary specification and there is a concern thatthe amount of the machined surface removed becomes uneven.

In a case in which a coolant is used, pure water is preferably used.This is because, when there is an impurity component, there is a concernthat the tribo-catalytic action may not be exhibited. For thetribo-catalytic action, it is important to make the mechanical energyefficiently contribute to the generation of electron-hole pairs.However, there is a concern that the interposition of impurities itselfmay hinder the efficient contribution of the mechanical energy, inaddition, the enhancement of the lubrication action of water decreasesthe friction resistance and, consequently, there is a concern that themechanical energy supplied to the abrasive grains may decrease. Inaddition, there is another concern that the interposition of impuritiesmay hinder a process in which the abrasive grains efficiently remove theoxidation product.

The coolant may not be used and, when pure water is used as the coolant,the supply rate of pure water is preferably 100 ml/min or lower. This isbecause, when the supply rate thereof is higher than 100 ml/min, theenergy supplied to the abrasive grains due to mechanical rubbing becomestoo small and there is a concern that the tribo-catalytic action may notbe sufficiently exhibited. In addition, this is because, when the supplyrate of pure water is too high, the action of pure water as a lubricantbecomes strong and the friction resistance decreases. As a result, theenergy supplied to the abrasive grains becomes small and there isanother concern that only an insufficient number of electron-hole pairsmay be generated.

The Method for Manufacturing the Single Crystal SiC Substrate

A method for manufacturing a single crystal SiC substrate according toan embodiment of the present invention includes a step of mounting agrinding plate which includes a soft pad and a hard pad sequentiallyattached onto a base metal having a flat surface, a step of generatingan oxidation product by using the grinding plate, and a step of grindingthe surface while removing the oxidation product, wherein abrasivegrains made of at least one metallic oxide, that is softer than singlecrystal SiC and has a bandgap, are fixed to the surface of the hard pad.In the method for the present invention, since the oxidation on thesurface of SiC is used, the method has a relationship with the height ofthe oxidation barrier and can be preferably applied to a C plane of a(0001) plane of the SiC substrate.

EXAMPLES

Hereinafter, the present invention will be more specifically describedby using examples, but the present invention is not limited to thefollowing examples.

First Example

The surface of an aluminum alloy base metal having a M12 screw hole andan outer diameter of 150 mm, which was prepared so as to be capable ofbeing mounted on a grinder MHG-2000 manufactured by Shuwa Industry Co.,Ltd., which faced a substance to be machined, was machined to be flatand a pad for CMP SUBA600 (soft pad) manufactured by Nitta HaasIncorporated was attached onto the above-described surface. Next, eightpads for CMP IC1000 (hard pads) manufactured by Nitta Haas Incorporated,which were segmented into a 30 mm×40 mm×50 mm right-angled triangularshape, were attached onto the SUBA600 through an FEP adhesive sheet filmmanufactured by AS ONE Corporation, thereby producing a grinding platebase body. Truing was carried out on the grinding plate base body usinga conditioner CMP-M100A manufactured by Asahi Diamond Industrial Co.,Ltd. Finally, TRIZACT film (cerium oxide) manufactured by 3M, which wassegmented into a 30 mm×40 mm×50 mm right-angled triangular shape, wasattached onto the surface of the trued IC1000 segment, thereby producinga grinding plate for surface machining single crystal SiC substrateshaving the tribo-catalytic action.

Next, the produced grinding plate was mounted in a grinder MHG-2000. Ann-type (000-1) 4H-SiC (4° off) single crystal ingot (C plane) (singlecrystal SiC substrate) having a diameter of three inches manufactured byTankeblue Semiconductor Co., Ltd., which was previously ground to beflat using a vitrified bond diamond wheel (#4000) manufactured by AsahiDiamond Industrial Co., Ltd., was fixed to a table for a substance to bemachined using a vacuum chucking device, and the surface on the C planeside was machined.

The rotation direction of the table for a substance to be machined wasset in the inverse direction of the rotation direction of the grindingplate, the rotation speed of the table for a substance to be machinedwas set, and the surface was machined at a supply rate of pure water of0 ml/min, that is, in a dry mode. The table for a substance to bemachined was manually sent slowly and the current value of a motor forthe rotation of the grindstone was set in a range of 2.4 A to 2.8 A. Themachining time was three minutes.

Regarding the amount of the single crystal ingot removed, as a result ofmeasuring the heights of the ingot before and after the machining atnine points in the surface using a height meter manufactured by MitutoyoCorporation and computing the amounts, the average value was 3.8 μm. Themachining speed had a high value of 1.3 μm/min. The difference betweenthe maximum value and the minimum value of the height of the ingot afterthe machining was 1.4 μm and the surface was uniformly machined.

The results of the dark-field observation of the surface of the ingotbefore and after machining carried out by using an optical microscopemanufactured by Olympus Corporation are illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Numerous scratches due to grinding generated by the #4000 diamondabrasive grains observed in the ingot before machining completelydisappeared. Only bright points caused by crystal defects or fineforeign substances were observed, and a mirror finish with no machiningstrain was achieved.

Second Example

The grinding plate for surface machining single crystal SiC produced inthe first example was used and the machining was carried out under thesame grinding conditions as in the first example except for the factthat the amounts of pure water supplied were set to 10 ml/min, 50ml/min, and 100 ml/min.

The machining rates were 1.0 μm/min, 0.6 μm/min, and 0.2 μm/minrespectively and, similar to the case of the first example, it wasconfirmed that grinding scratches completely disappeared in thedark-field observation by using an optical microscope.

Comparative Example 1

The grinding plate for surface machining single crystal SiC produced inthe first example was used and the machining was carried out under thesame grinding conditions as in the first example except for the factthat the amount of pure water supplied was set to 150 ml/min. As aresult, it was confirmed that the machining rate was almost zero andgrinding scratches rarely disappeared in the dark-field observationusing an optical microscope. It is considered that, at the amount ofpure water supplied of 150 ml/min, the energy supplied to the abrasivegrains by the mechanical rubbing was too small and the tribo-catalyticaction was not exhibited.

Comparative Example 2

As a result of using a resin-bonded cerium oxide grindstone manufacturedby Nihon Grinding Wheel Co., Ltd. as a grinding plate and carrying outthe same machining as in the first example, the average value of themachining rates was 0.7 μm/min. However, the grinding was not uniformlycarried out so that the central portion of the ingot was ground to agreat extent and small scratches were observed in the dark-fieldobservation using an optical microscope. It is considered that, unlikethe present invention, the grinding plate did not have a configurationof the combination of the soft pad and the hard pad and thus machiningon the basis of the surface standard was not possible and, furthermore,it was not possible to suppress the generation of small scratches.

Industrial Applicability

The surface machining method for a single crystal SiC substrate, themanufacturing method thereof, and the grinding plate for surfacemachining a single crystal SiC substrate of the present invention can beused for the production of single crystal SiC substrates and can be usedin a step of machining a substrate to be thin by grinding the backsurface of the substrate after device fabrication.

Reference Signs List

1 BASE METAL

2 SOFT PAD

3 HARD PAD

10 GRINDING PLATE FOR SURFACE MACHINING SINGLE CRYSTAL SiC SUBSTRATE

1. A surface machining method for a single crystal SiC substrate,comprising: a step of mounting a grinding plate which includes a softpad and a hard pad sequentially attached onto a base metal having a flatsurface in a grinder, a step of generating an oxidation product by usingthe grinding plate, and a step of grinding the surface while removingthe oxidation product, wherein abrasive grains made of at least onemetallic oxide that is softer than single crystal SiC and has a bandgapare fixed to the surface of the hard pad; the grinder has a table for asubstance to be machined for fixing a driving unit for rotatablymounting the grinding plate and a single crystal SiC substrate; and thestep of grinding the surface is carried out by rotating the grindingplate at a rotational speed of 500 rpm to 3000 rpm.
 2. The surfacemachining method for a single crystal SiC substrate according to claim1, wherein pure water is used as a coolant.
 3. The surface machiningmethod for a single crystal SiC substrate according to claim 1, whereina coolant is not used or the supply rate of pure water used as thecoolant is greater than 0 ml/min and less than or equal to 100 ml/min.4. A surface machining method for a single crystal SiC substrate,comprising: a step of mounting a grinding plate which includes a softpad and a hard pad sequentially attached onto a base metal having a flatsurface in a grinder, a step of generating an oxidation product by usingthe grinding plate, and a step of grinding the surface while removingthe oxidation product, wherein abrasive grains made of at least onemetallic oxide that is softer than single crystal SiC and has a bandgapare fixed to the surface of the hard pad.
 5. The grinding plate forsurface machining a single crystal SiC substrate according to claim 1,wherein the metal oxide is one or more selected from cerium oxide,titanium oxide, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, iron oxide, zirconiumoxide, zinc oxide, and tin oxide.
 6. The grinding plate for surfacemachining a single crystal SiC substrate according to claim 1, whereinthe metal oxide includes at least cerium oxide.
 7. The grinding platefor surface machining a single crystal SiC substrate according to claim1, wherein the abrasive grains are fixed by using a binding agent and/oran adhesive.
 8. The grinding plate for surface machining a singlecrystal SiC substrate according to claim 1, wherein the abrasive grainsare fixed by attaching an abrasive grain-fixed film to the hard pad.